Subordination
by elphabathedelirious32
Summary: AU ROTS. Palpatine was very suspicious of Padme. He didn't want her around when he turned the Republic into an Empire, so he sent her to Mustafar with Anakin...
1. Orders

A/N: If you read the ROTS movie novel, you'd know Palpatine was pretty suspicious of Padmé, and he made Anakin suspicious too. So what would he do? How to get her out of the way without angering Anakin? Send her with him!

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars. No, really.

"Are the Jedi gone?" asked Palpatine.

"Yes, Master," said Anakin, trying to keep the faces of the terrified younglings he had killed out of his mind. He wondered what Padmé would say if she knew. Her name, mentioned in Palpatine's voice, brought him back to the conversation.

"- And I think your- Padmé- Senator Amidala- should go to Mustafar with you," said Palpatine, eyeing Sly Moore in the other room.

"What!" demanded Anakin. "Master, she- she- can't!" he cried. Palpatine smirked.

"Would you leave her here, then, with her Senator friends growing closer to treason every day? Leave her here, when it is yet uncertain whether Obi-Wan is dead?" Anakin flinched. Palpatine smiled, knowing he had won. But he made his victory by a bigger margin. "Show her what happens to traitors. Go to Mustafar, take care of the Separatists. End this war. And meanwhile, show Padmé what happens when you are crossed." Anakin held his gaze for a moment, then nodded.

Padmé Amidala was sitting at her desk, puzzling over a document, when Anakin came through the door. Her face lit up with a radiant smile as she stood to greet him, but all he noticed was the way she slipped the paper into a sheaf of identical Senate documents.

"Ani!" she cried happily. "I thought you'd gone." She walked over and reached for him, but he grasped her arms and held her back.

"No," he said. "Palpatine thought it would be best if you came with me." She smiled, eyes dancing.

"He did, did he?" she asked playfully.

"Yes," said Anakin without mirth. "He did."

"Okay," said Padmé.

"Get some clothes, we're leaving," replied Anakin.

"Don't order me around like that," said Padmé. It was said lightly, a gentle not-quite-reprimand.

"Don't question me, Padmé!" screamed Anakin, twisting her wrist behind her back. She gasped in shock and pain.

"Anakin! Stop it! Let me go, what is wrong with you?" He released her, shoving her back against a wall. She crossed her arms protectively over her stomach. _The baby,_ she thought, flinging her hands out desperately to stop herself from hitting the wall. Something struck her leg from behind, and she fell to the ground, sobbing. Anakin stood coldly in the doorway, having buckled her legs with the Force.

"Get up, move it," he said callously. With an infinity of pain and love in her eyes, Padmé stood and looked up at him.

"Why would you do that?" she asked, strangely calm.

"Why don't you call _Obi-Wan_ to help you?" Anakin asked harshly.

"Because," she said, "I need you." They stood, separated by far more than the few feet of space between them. "I love you," she said, and turned away.


	2. Something the Matter

A/N: Not supposed to be on the computer…but too bad.

Disclaimer: Star Wars isn't mine. Sadly.

Sadness stings. Tears taste of salty bitterness, and pain sits like a lump, clogging your throat until you can barely breathe. Anger burns, rising and growing inside you like a fire, until it fills you and spills out in a roaring dragon-scream. And love. Love mixes emotions into a frothy, unpredictable brew. It's jealous, beautiful, possessive, awkward, heart-breaking and heart-healing. It's the whole world magnified a thousand times into one being. It's blind and all-seeing. It's inexplicable.

Bail Organa was worried about Padmé. She hadn't attended any of the meetings that day, and he'd glimpsed her only once, heading down the hallway to her office, silent and half-frightened, like a ghost.

She wasn't the sort of person that could be turned into a ghost.

He made his way to her office, planning to see if she was ill. He could see her shadowy form within, moving files into a box. He opened the door carefully.

"Senator Amidala?" he asked. Her head shot up instantly, a jumpiness he'd never seen in her before. "Are you all right?"

"She's fine," said a voice from the corner of the room. Bail turned to see young Anakin Skywalker leaning against a wall, glaring at him.

"What is he doing here?" Bail asked Padmé. Her gaze flitted nervously to Anakin and back.

"I'm taking her to another planet. For safety. Chancellor's orders," said Anakin cavalierly. Bail gave Padmé an odd look. She wasn't the type to allow others to speak for her. She didn't meet his eyes and continued putting things into a box.

"You can leave now," said Anakin in a tone that brooked no argument. Bail obeyed, casting one last curious glance at his usually fiery colleague before shutting the door.

As soon as Bail was gone, Padmé collapsed into a chair, crystalline tears tracing their way down her cheeks. Anakin walked over to her. Padmé flinched, adrenaline shooting through her. The past few hours had been an emotional roller-coaster ride. She was never sure which side of Anakin she was going to confront. Anakin gently caught two of her tears on his fingertips. Her stomach flipped. As if sensing it, the baby kicked. Padmé closed her eyes. What was she going to do? She couldn't subject her child to this unpredictable, often hostile Anakin. And she couldn't leave him, either.

_How pathetic is that? _She asked herself. But it was different. Something was wrong with Anakin. Something was tearing him apart. And she was bound and determined to find out what…and fix it.


	3. I Will Not

A/N: I really thank you for the reviews (and mock Jeff). I know this is short, but I don't feel guilty b/c I already posted one today.

Disclaimer: My precious, my precious- NO! It's not mine.

She was asleep. They sailed through space, and she slept peacefully in the seat beside him. He reached out a cautious hand to touch her cheek. He looked at her wrists. Tiny, breakable, fragile. If you could catch her long enough to break them, that was. She stirred, hand going to her swollen stomach. Her lips curved gently into a smile. Anakin put his hand under hers and felt a feather-light kick against his palm. She stirred again and placed her hand over his. Her eyelids fluttered, one, two, three times before opening completely.

"Ani?" she said drowsily, perhaps not recalling in that hazy place between sleeping and waking what he had done. She blinked again. Her eyes shot wide open and she sat up completely, forcing his hand away. "Anakin." The tone was cool, emotionless. Her chin lifted, eyes cold, face set, she stared at him. As though she were his equal. No one was his equal! The old anger returned, and he slapped her. Her head turned to the side from the force of it, but he still saw the expression of shock on her face.

Shock turned to anger.

"Anakin!"

"Shut up!"

"I will NOT!" They faced each other, eyes blazing. He pressed on her with all the power of the Force he could summon, willing her to obey. For a moment, her eyes clouded, but then they burned brown fire once again. "I _said,_ I will not!" He glared at her for a moment, and she met his gaze.

"You _will_ obey me!"

"No, I won't!" she considered her next words for a moment. "If you so much as touch me again," she said, "I'll leave the moment this ship touches the ground."


	4. More than One Way

A/N: Fortunezyne- I do write fluff. Funny fluffy fluff. A Dysfunctional Family and Roomies….well maybe they're not exactly fluff, but no one injures anyone else. Except Palpatine. But that's okay, because he's annoying. And evil, and manipulative. But whatever. Anakin's already killed him in two of my stories, so, I'm quite good thanks.

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars. Despite all the various types of homework I've tried to trade George Lucas for it.

She'd touched his deepest fear. It seemed contradictory that he would treat her so horribly and yet value her above all else, but to Anakin's mind, if he could control her, she would never leave. And here she was, threatening to take away his entire world.

"What makes you think there's anywhere to go? Mustafar has one spaceport, and it's surrounded by deadly lava. And I'll make certain you're kept far away from the ships." He said it with bravado, hoping speaking it aloud would make it true.

"Then I'll jump into the lava," said Padmé, firmly and without hesitation.

"You wouldn't kill our child," said Anakin, convinced that he was right.

"If I didn't," she said quietly, "You would."

"No, I won't!" cried Anakin, indignant. "How dare you say such a thing?" Her eyes blazed at him.

"Because there's more than one way of killing someone, Anakin!" she cried.

"Of course. Lightsabers, blasters,-"

"That isn't what I mean! I mean by breaking them. Taking away freedom, spirit, _love_," she said, whispering the last word so that if Anakin hadn't been a Jedi, he wouldn't have heard it, "It kills you inside as surely as a lightsaber kills your body."

She was right, of course. But Anakin was too far from his ordinary self to admit it. Or give up what power and control he thought he had. "Stop talking nonsense," said Anakin brusquely. He turned away and they flew the rest of the way in silence. But Padmé was formulating a plan. The plan would take at least a few days to put into effect…but it was there. And she thought it could work. After all, she knew Anakin.

Didn't she?

They disembarked from the ship, Anakin with a firm grasp on Padmé's arm as he half-yanked her down the exit ramp. Padmé ignored this. She ignored the way he spoke to her, the way he treated her so roughly, and all the other things that had changed about Anakin. But she couldn't ignore what happened next.

They walked into a conference room containing all the Separatist leaders. Padmé gasped in shock, but quickly composed herself. She returned Nute Gunray's glare with a withering one of her own and refused to even acknowledge Poggle the Lesser. She had no patience at all for beings who blatantly scarred the justice system with sham trials. Anakin, his face well-hooded, brought her over to one of the slim durasteel supports placed at intervals throughout the room. He took a set of handcuffs from his utility belt.

"Anakin!" Padmé hissed in a low whisper, "What do you think you're doing?"

"Ascertaining your safety," he replied, reaching for her left wrist. She snatched it away.

"Why, what are you going to do?" she asked, glaring suspiciously.

"End this war, of course," he replied, smiling engagingly.

"And why can't I help?" Padmé wanted to know. Not that she particularly _wanted _to kill all the Separatist leaders, which was what she knew Anakin had in mind, but bringing them to justice would be wonderful.

"Because, _darling_, you're pregnant."

"So what? I ran around Coruscant shooting at invading droids on the back of a speeder when Grievous invaded, and I was pregnant then, too!"

"Bail Organa said you fainted and nearly fell off the speeder."

"I hit my head. There's a difference," lied Padmé.

"You did not hit your head."

"No, I didn't. But you have," she retorted bitingly. "Concern for my condition didn't enter your twisted mind when you shoved me into a wall, did it?"

"Shut up," growled Anakin, roughly grabbing her wrist and shackling to the support.

He turned to the Separatist leaders.

"What is she doing here, Lord Vader?" asked Gunray in his annoying voice.

"Watching the show," replied Anakin, casting off his hood and igniting his blue lightsaber.


	5. Welcome to Stepford

A/N: I was thinking about Padmé's plan, which is derived from Rory's in _That Damn Donna Reed, _but far different as well, obviously, and realized she could actually put it into execution right away. Yay! But then, I had an even better idea that will make some of you (and me) feel at least a bit reassured about that 'happily ever after.'

Disclaimer: For Pete's sake, you all must know I don't own Star Wars. No one, not even my math teacher, wants _my _math homework. Which technically I should be doing now, but it's a three day weekend so who cares?

Padmé couldn't bear to look, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from the horrifying spectacle Anakin was rapidly creating. Blood and severed limbs flew everywhere. Screams of pain and pleading filled the air. And Anakin smiled. A malicious, cruel smile that wrenched her insides apart. The smile flashed, and the pain throbbed again. A shorter pause, and then another throb of pain. And when it happened twice more, the intervals growing smaller each time, she knew.

"Anakin!" she cried. He looked up from dispatching San Hill and smiled that awful smile again. "I'm- I'm- I think I'm having the baby!" The last thing she saw before it all went black was Anakin, Ani, the man she loved, lose his cruel smile as an expression of horrible fear and love came over his face.

Padmé blinked slowly.

"She's coming around," said an unfamiliar voice.

"Is she all right?" Worried, fearful. Anakin.

"She'll be fine. Miss? Are you awake? Can you hear me?" it was a medic, Padmé noted when she became fully aware. "You almost went into premature labor. We've given you some medicine to stop the contractions," said the medic.

"The baby? Is she all right?" asked Padmé. She had long thought, deep in her gut, that the child was a girl. She felt almost as if she knew her already.

"The babies are fine," the medic said.

"Babies?" asked Padmé and Anakin in unison.

"Twins," replied the medic, smiling. "A boy and a girl." He gathered up his things and left the room. She stared apprehensively at the still smiling- but happily, genuinely- Anakin. _Plan, _she remembered.

"Twins, Padmé!" said Anakin joyfully.

"I know, it's wonderful!" said Padmé in a very cheerful voice. "When are we leaving, so I can help you with your important work, and rest so that your children are healthy?" she asked in the same tone, without a hint of sarcasm. Anakin studied her for a moment.

"The doctor said we could leave now," he answered a bit hesitantly.

"Wonderful!" said Padmé again. Was he getting suspicious? He seemed to be a bit wary of her, but with a change this drastic that was to be expected. She smiled.

"Should we go?" she asked Anakin.

"Yes," he said, a bit less hesitantly this time, as though he liked Padmé's new deference.

_Oh, he'll love it at first, _she thought, _but then it'll annoy the hell out of him. And he'll realize it's not what he really wants. After all, it's Anakin. Constant cheer gets on his nerves. And Stepford wife cheer and lack of backbone _should _annoy everyone._


	6. We'll See, Won't We?

A/N: Yet another chapter from the girl who should really be doing that homework. If I can resist vomiting while writing this chapter…here you go.

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars. I _wish _I didn't own my homework.

Anakin walked into the small kitchen of the ship. It was bright. And there was a tablecloth. And a vase of fake flowers. And the floor was shiny. And it smelled really, really, good.

"Good morning, dear!" It was Padmé. She was bright and sunny and uncharacteristically cheerful.

"Aagh," groaned Anakin. It was too early for anyone to have that much energy. Especially someone who couldn't have any coffee. "Why aren't you tired?" he asked her.

"Early to bed, early to rise," said Padmé. She had a point, no matter how annoying the cliché was (and how much effort Padmé had to use to avoid wincing or throwing up as she spoke it). Anakin had been up well past two in the morning the night before. Anakin groaned again.

"Would you like some muffins?" asked Padmé. Of course, Threepio had been a major participant in this entire charade. Padmé was still silently and unobservedly defiant, and she was eight months pregnant. She wasn't going to clean the floor on her hands and knees. For one, the posture was ridiculously servile and- _Okay, okay, _she told herself. _Stop it. Or you might say it aloud._

"Sure," said Anakin, waking up a bit more. And then glaring at her suspiciously.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Getting your breakfast, darling," said Padmé innocently, her eyes wide.

"That's not what I mean and you know it," he said, frustrated.

"No, I'm afraid I don't," she answered. Anakin hit the table with his fist, shaking the vase and the cup of coffee that had been set before him.

"Dammit, Padmé, quit this charade!" he yelled. She forced herself to look on the verge of tears. She widened her eyes even more and didn't blink, so that they began to water, and she made her bottom lip tremble. Which was never how she looked when she actually cried, but then being the complete opposite of herself was kind of the point.

"It's not a charade," she said tremulously. "I- I just wanted to do something that I _should _be doing, instead of acting like I have been. I'm sorry, I've learnt my place." _Gag, gag, don't laugh, don't laugh, _she told herself over and over. Anakin looked as though he might be beginning to believe her.

"My master has said we can't return to Coruscant for a few days. Where do you want to go?" he asked.

"Oh, I couldn't choose. That's your job," she said, so sweetly it bordered on sarcasm. Anakin glanced at her suspiciously again. She looked back down at the dish she had in her hands.

"Very well," he said slowly, and idea now forming in his head. _She won't fool me with this act. We'll go back to Coruscant, near her dissenting Senate friends. She'll be there when Palpatine declares the new Empire. We'll see how obedient she is then. _


	7. Yeah, Right

A/N: And this time, the plan gets even better. I know it's rather humorous, but it will get more serious.

Disclaimer: He still doesn't want my homework!

The next morning, Anakin woke and went once again into the bright, shiny kitchen. An array of every breakfast food imaginable was laid out…but Padmé wasn't there.

"Padmé? Where are you?" called Anakin, irritated.

"In the bedroom!" she called. Anakin had been too sleepy to see her when he'd gone into the kitchen. He went back into the room and found her in the closet, still in her nightdress.

"What should I wear?" she asked.

"I don't care, just pick something," said Anakin, annoyed.

"But I cannot make independent choices for myself," she said with a straight face.

"You've done well enough making choices for an entire planet since you were a kid," Anakin pointed out.

"But now I've learned to submit myself to your will," said Padmé with an eerie smile.

"Quit it!" yelled Anakin.

"What?"

"Whatever you're doing!"

"Standing? Holding a dress?" asked Padmé.

"Aaaargh!" yelled Anakin, storming from the room. The moment he was gone, Padmé collapsed into a fit of silent laughter and began to whisper-mock herself.

"Look, I can't make any choices for myself. Anakin, with his so-much-better judgment-" she began to laugh again, "must make them for me, oh, whatever will I do?" she said in a high, airy, voice. She fell on the ground laughing.

"What's so funny now?" asked Anakin, looming in the doorway.

"Nothing," said Padmé.

"Whatever. We're almost on Coruscant. Could you try not to get yourself committed after we land?"

"It's just my delicate nerves," said Padmé, barely able to keep herself from bursting into laughter again. Anakin grunted and went back to the cockpit.

Padmé was, again, nowhere to be found. Well, she was actually hiding in the bathroom reading a book, but Anakin didn't know that, and he was ticked off.

"PADMÉ!" he yelled. She emerged from the bathroom, book hidden behind her back.

"Yes, dear?" she asked.

"We're landing," he said brusquely.


	8. Wishful Thinking

A/N: I know, it's great. I love this plan. I was bothering my friend Jeff by pretending to be stupid online and acting like a complete and total moron. I have writer's block on Never. I need ideas!

Disclaimer: Come on, we all know the homework bit.

Padmé played little mind games with herself as she and Anakin stood in Palpatine's office, awaiting the Chancellor.

_What if I grabbed his lightsaber, right now? And then killed him? _

Then, she started talking to herself. In her head.

_You're an idiot if you think you could do that, Padmé. You can't leave, why would you do this instead? Great alternative. _She sighed in frustration. Anakin visibly perked up and turned to look at her.

"Did you sigh? Aren't you happy?" he asked, hoping she would say no. Her constant and, for the past few days completely unbroken, cheerfulness was beginning to get on his nerves. But although that phase of the plan was over, Padmé wasn't done. She turned to Anakin and once again made her eyes as wide as they would go.

"No!" she cried.

"What's wrong?" asked Anakin in visible relief.

"I forgot to take the dinner out of the refrigerator to defrost!" she said, forcing herself to look on the verge of tears rather than laughter. Anakin swore.

"You need to _stop _playing whatever stupid game you're playing, right now!"

"But I'm only doing what you said, Anakin. Learning my 'place,'" she said, her voice now heavy with sarcasm.

"There's a difference between actual obedience and obedience as part of proving some point!"

"Why?"

"You know why!"

"No, I don't. I don't know anything, remember?"

"I never said that."

"You implied it."

"So what?"

"The supposed superiority you think you have is still annoying!"

"Not as annoying as your Stepford Wife impersonation!"

"So, you admit it."

"What?"

"That you really find abject obedience and constant servility completely and totally annoying."

"I-I- Don't argue with me!"

"You can't just say that and make it go away! The issue is still there!" cried Padmé, reminding Anakin of what she had said about the baby, just- had it really been just more than a week?- ago. He looked at her now, detachedly. She was small and, once again, full of fire. He had a sudden urge to reach out and fold her into his arms, to forget everything that had happened these past few days, to go back to the way it had been not so long ago on Naboo, just the two of them and their love and nothing else…but the the double doors of the office swung open, and Chancellor Palpatine walked in.


	9. Lord and Master: Anakin's, That Is

A/N: Okay, let's see…where did I leave off? Oh, right, Palpatine.

Disclaimer: No, I own Star Wars. That's why I'm writing this. How about…no.

Anakin knelt as Palpatine swept to the front of the room. He used the Force to bring Padmé to her knees as well.

"Be a bit less careful, would you?" she hissed.

"I could be, you know," he hissed back.

"I _could _stand up and storm out right now."

"No, you couldn't."

"And why not?"

"Just try." She struggled, but the Force was holding her in place.

"I really don't think you're supposed to use it like that," Padmé said.

"From the Jedi point of view." Padmé bit her lip and turned her face away. Anakin ignored this. Palpatine stopped shuffling papers on his desk to glare at Anakin.

"You can't even control _her_?" he asked. "How are you ever supposed to be my second-in-command?" Anakin stared at the floor.

"I'll try to do better, Master," he said. Padmé stood up. With effort.

"Why don't you just try controlling me, you traitor?" she challenged Palpatine. "And I don't mean with the Force, or physically. Just try to shut me up."

"You're the traitor, Senator," he said without acknowledging her challenge.

"Really? To the Empire? Yet the Empire itself is a betrayal of the Republic, and you, as its founder, are a traitor," she reasoned. "If I am a traitor to this betrayal, then I am proud of it."

"Lord Vader?" said Palpatine. Anakin rose to try to restrain Padmé. She shoved him away.

"I'm perfectly capable of exiting without assistance," she snapped. Palpatine's voice echoed through Anakin's head.

_Are you going to let her talk to you that way? _It asked.

"You may be capable of it, but you aren't going to," growled Anakin, grabbing her by the back of her dress.

"And why not? I thought that's what your lord and master wanted," she said innocently, with just the slightest emphasis on 'lord and master.' An emphasis Anakin immediately picked up on.

"Shut up," he told her.

"Make me," she said. He slapped her across the face. "Go to hell!" she yelled through the tears that had formed as an involuntary response to the slap. He grabbed her by the hair and yanked her over to a chair, in which he bound and gagged her, thrashing and screaming the entire time. It was a mark of the policies of the new Empire that no one counted the screams emitting from the Chancellor's office as out of the ordinary.

"Good, Vader!" cried Palpatine from his seat. The venomous look Padmé shot him sent a message clearer than words.

_I hate you. _


	10. Another Dream

A/N: High emotional tension, abuse…and no comment. Wow. Societal awareness does not appear to be…okay, I'm going to shut up now and merely be happy that my world history homework contains a Star Wars reference- "Luke, turn off the computer and use the Force." smiles happily.

Disclaimer: Neither I nor my World History teacher owns Star Wars.

That night, Anakin dreamed. The dream confused him. He wasn't sure whether it was a premonition or not. He wasn't sure which part he wanted to come true.

_You have choices, Anakin, _a voice rather like Qui-Gon's said at the start of his dream. _If you continue along this path, this is what you will have. _ A picture formed in Anakin's mind.

_A man, a soldier, trembles before Anakin as Anakin clenches his fist closed and seals the man's fate. Padmé, wreathed in shadows, stands in the corner. She is not bound in the room by any physical ties. But the two toddlers playing together in the corner- one with short, fair, hair and vivid blue eyes, one with longer, dark, curls and thoughtful brown eyes. It is easy to see that they are Anakin and Padmé's children. The man lays dead on the floor. Anakin turns to Padmé, and she will not speak to him. She turns away, a single diamond tear glittering in her eye, which she brushes away as the girl-toddler runs to her. _

Despite all he had done in the past days, in sleep Anakin's conscious was fully alert and fully his. And this scene cut him to the core. The cold killer in the dream was not someone he wanted to be. He did not want Padmé always angry with him, his children afraid.

_How do I fix it? _He asked the dream-voice of Qui-Gon. There was no answer, but another scene.

_Anakin stands in a green clearing in the midst of a sun-dappled forest. His arm is looped about Padmé's waist, and she smiles at him, and they both turn to watch the two children play happily together. The boy picks up a stick from the ground. _

"_Look, I'm a Jedi Master!" he announces. "Leia, you be a Sith," he says to the girl. _

"_Uh-uh," she replies. "If we have to play Jedi and Sith, I wanna be a Jedi Master like Dad too!" _

"_Fine," says the boy. "We can be having a training session." Padmé and Anakin turn towards each other and smile contentedly. _

_Yes, yes! But how do I make it that way? _Anakin asked.

_Simple, _said the voice. _Apologize. And stop what you're doing. _

_I'm not getting us all killed, _Anakin said.

_Then fake it. Find the right moment, and end the Empire. _The voice paused. _And, Anakin?_

_What?_

_Remember, your focus determines your reality. _

_Master Qui-Gon? _Sweating, Anakin woke up.


	11. An All Too Short Eternity

A/N: Yes, now you get your other wish. And this one had better get reviews. I mean, you asked for it.

Disclaimer: Really? I don't own Star Wars? Darn.

Padmé slept fitfully that night. Her dreams were filled with incoherent images of Anakin at nine and nineteen and just weeks ago, set against the background of a song, at turns hauntingly lovely and heartbreakingly sad. _Anakin's Dream. _Padmé wasn't sure what it meant- the song, her own dreams, or the one Anakin beside her might be having? She stirred slowly, orienting herself with her surroundings. Beside her, Anakin stared up at the ceiling.

"Anakin?" she asked querulously, never sure what response she might get.

"I don't want-" he began, then broke off, turning his face away.

"Don't want what?" she asked gently.

"Nothing! When I want to talk about it, I will. Do you understand?" Padmé recoiled. Anakin sat. "Do you?" he yelled.

"Comprehend? Yes. Understand? No," said Padmé.

"Don't get smart with me," growled Anakin, slapping her. Without a word, Padmé lie back down and faced the wall, ignoring Anakin completely. _When the child is born, _she told herself, _I will fight back. But I will not risk the baby's life now. _ Slowly, sleep returned to her, erasing the terrifying present, and this time, bringing back the moments of her and Anakin's courtship, if it could be called that, back on Naboo. But Padmé had a moment of lucidity in her dream, a single coherent thought; in her deepest, truest, soul; _There is still good in him. _

This time, she was awakened by the morning light, filtered through the haze-filled golden air of Coruscant, streaming in slow stripes through the window coverings. Anakin sat beside her, propped on one elbow.

"Come here," he said, winding a hand through her hair and yanking her towards him. As he kissed her, she began by doing what she had since her waking nightmare had begun- to neither resist nor reciprocate, to simply be, and hope it would end. But now, she tried a new approach- she gave back, putting into their kiss her heart and soul, as she had done before, as she had done the first time they kissed, and as she did, she opened her eyes, stared into Anakin's, and connected.

It was as though lightning were surging through his soul. His eyes shot open, and he found himself staring into Padmé's eyes, wide and startled. It was like falling into her, it was beautiful, and in her eyes, he found everything that he had lost.

It was impossible to tell how long the kiss lasted; it might have been hours, it might have been less than a minute, it might have been a lifetime. It was forever condensed, sun and earth combining, the grand finale to the twisting dance of pain and beauty leading them to this moment. But it did end, after an all-too-short eternity, and there was nothing left to say. Almost nothing.

"I'm sorry," Anakin whispered.

Their eyes met again, baring their souls. In unison, they spoke. "I love you."


	12. Mission Impossible?

A/N: Surprisingly few reviews for what could have been, but is not, the end of my story! But I continue, as I'm a hopeless romantic- well, sometimes- and especially in the case of Padmé and Anakin, meaning that this story just got fun for me.

Disclaimer: No. I don't own Star Wars.

They didn't want the Emperor to know. That would, as it had in the first place, give him an unfair advantage over Anakin: Padmé. So the way they stood before him, it was impossible to tell that anything had changed the night before. When, in reality, everything had. Anakin's arm around Padmé could have restrained her in case she decided to go kick the Emperor where the sun don't shine- something she had often considered- or a gesture of love. Which it was. But of course, the Emperor had no idea, after witnessing- in fact, one could even say instigating- the incident the day before.

"You're taking charge of a starship- the _Annihilator_- which will be stationed near Alderaan," Palpatine told Anakin. Anakin nodded.

"Yes, Master," he said. Padmé hid a smile.

"You'll have to put down the small rebellion that has arisen there," the Emperor continued. Anakin took Padmé's hand and started towards the door.

"And, Lord Vader?" Anakin stopped and turned. "We have reason to believe the fugitive Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi is hiding there." Anakin nodded again and stepped closer to the door.

"Wait," said Palpatine in a chilling tone. "I want his head brought back to me on a silver platter."

"Yes, Master," said Anakin. Padmé tried to keep herself from throwing up, or bursting out in a rant against the Emperor. She managed until she and Anakin were walking down the hallway.

"That's sickening! It's absolutely disgusting! There's no reason for it! He only wants to play mental games with you. It's manipulative, perverted, irrational-"

"He's a Sith Lord, Padmé," said Anakin wearily. "What do you expect?" She stopped, and studied Anakin for a moment.

"Exactly," she said.

_Oh, right_, thought Anakin. _What _did _I expect? _

The upside to being the second most feared man in the galaxy was that no one on your ship questioned you, Anakin realized. He and Padmé's quarters, rather than being off the main stateroom corridor, were off in an isolated section of the destroyer. Anakin did not think it would be a very intelligent move for her to be near any of his officers when she was arguing against-or plotting to overthrow- the Empire, as she frequently did. He sighed and leaned back in his chair, studying the durasheet detailing the mission. Padmé was in the chair beside his, reading something. Suddenly, he felt her eyes on him, and he turned.

"What is it?" he asked. She bit her lip, as if considering what she were going to say.

"Are you really going to do it?" she asked finally.

"Do what?"

"Put down the rebellion. Kill Obi-Wan."

Anakin looked away.

"I don't know if I have a choice," he said sadly. His eyes met hers once again.

"I just don't know what to do!" Padmé's eyes went wide, and Anakin wondered what he'd said that had shocked her.

"What?" he asked.

"The babies!" she cried.

_Uh-oh,_ thought Anakin. Whose bright idea was putting them in these isolated quarters, anyway?


	13. Tense Much?

A/N: Sorry to have kept you waiting- I was busy writing Halloween chapters for two of my other fics (Part Two for ADF is still coming!) and then…ugh, school, twenty billion hours of math homework. But, the bright side…THE REPUBLICANS ARE GOING DOWN! AND I WATCHED EPISODE III!

Disclaimer: Well, who's on the DVD commentary? Me, or George Lucas? Well, there you are.

"Curse it, curse it all," yelled Anakin to no one in particular.

"For heaven's sakes would you stop cursing everything and DO something?" Padmé yelled back.

"Like what?"

"Like use the God-forsaken intercom!"

"Oh. Right." Anakin ran over to the intercom and frantically pushed at the buttons. Nothing happened. He looked at Padmé desperately. "What now?" he cried.

She sighed. "_Now, _you take me over to the medical capsule of the ship. You _do _know the way, don't you?"

"Of course. I- I planned the quickest routes from anywhere we might be on the ship- oh! Why didn't I think of this before?" Anakin wondered. Padmé sighed again.

"You were panicking and didn't think. Now- ow- please, can we hurry?"

Anakin paced outside the medical capsule, peering compulsively in the dim-lit windows, trying to see whether or not Padmé was all right. Made as nervous by his reputation as by his obsessive, panicky state, the human medic had requested that the Emperor have Anakin removed to the hallway. And that made Anakin very angry. Just thinking about it again- he clenched his fist. Across the room, a vase shattered. The Emperor entered the room halfway before taking a step back as broken glass covered the floor.

"Lord Vader!" he admonished.

"Sor-ry," whined Anakin.

"Don't whine like a child, Vader," Palpatine scolded almost lightly.

"Then don't _treat _me like one!" screamed Anakin.

"You are my apprentice, Vader. I will treat you as I wish."

"Damn it!" Anakin punched the wall and used the Force to flip a table and fling it against the wall.

"You are upset about Padmé. I will excuse your behavior- this time," said Palpatine calmly. Anakin stared at him for a moment. Then, still having said nothing, he stalked down the hallway and around a corner. Palpatine waited a moment. A crash came from just out of sight.

"Damn it!" yelled Anakin's voice.

_Perfect, _thought Palpatine. Even when you can see inside his head, his thoughts are still enigmatic.

"I am _perfectly _capable of articulating what I want at this moment, which is more than you appear to be able to do at any given time," Padmé said. The medic groaned.

"Are you _sure _there aren't any functioning medical droids aboard?" he asked his assistant. Hiding a grin, the assistant nodded.

"Why don't you just let the man come in?" the assistant asked. "It will shut them both up." Medic and assistant both turned toward the window at the sound of another crash.

"The problem is, it won't," said the medic. "They'll both just be in _here_, arguing and yelling and throwing things around without touching them and _stressing me out!_" he screamed. The assistant backed away.

"Or maybe, they'll both stop," suggested the assistant from a safe distance.

"And if not, _you_ get to kick _Lord Vader _out of his wife's delivery," said the medic.

"Okay," said the assistant a bit less assuredly. "But- I won't have to."

"You'd better hope not," said the medic.

"Do you want to _do _something? Or should we call a midwife?" yelled Padmé. The medic glared at the assistant.

"This had better work," he said.


	14. Luke and Leia

A/N: I _know _that, but the _point _is that he's not Lord Vader, he's Anakin. And Anakin does occasionally whine. And throw what could be termed temper tantrums. Luke is whiny too- "I don't wanna clean the droids, I wanna go…" but, especially in the beginning of the second movie, Anakin's quite whiny.

Disclaimer: What's that name again?

"Thank you," Anakin said to the medic's assistant in a tone conveying anything but gratitude. The assistant nodded. The medic glared.

"Anakin?" Padmé's voice came from behind a partition. "Why is everyone over there, I'd like to know? Is it policy to wait an hour for every month before the baby's born before _doing _anything about it?"

"Come on, let's-" the medic began, but Anakin had already run behind the partition.

"Finally!" said Padmé, grabbing Anakin's hand.

"Sorry, someone had the brilliant idea that my leaving would calm us both down." Anakin glared at the medic, who shrugged and began to do his job.

"Now- there's irony- for you," gasped Padmé. Anakin turned to the medic.

"Is everything all right? Is she going to be all right? Are the babies? Is-"

"Sir, you're going to have to be quiet if you want everything to be all right."

"No, you're going to have to tell me if _you _want to remain 'all right,'" growled Anakin.

"Yes, sir, everything's just fine."

"Well, good."

Finally, the twins were born. Luke and Leia Skywalker. Their middle names were Padmé and Anakin's secret. Luke Obi-Wan Skywalker and Leia Shmi Skywalker.

After the medics left, Anakin, holding Luke, perched on the side of Padmé's bed. He leaned over and kissed her.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you too." They leaned over the twins to kiss again. But they were interrupted by the Emperor walking through the door.

"Well, which one is to be your apprentice, Lord Vader?"


	15. How About No

A/N: Another special treat…third chapter in one day, to make up for my writer's block on Never…looks like I cliffhanger'd myself that time.

Disclaimer: Re-al-ly.

"What- I mean, I, um- I didn't think I'd-" stuttered Anakin.

"Neither." said Padmé firmly. "Your –agreement- with Anakin has nothing to do with my children."

"Really?" asked Palpatine. He subtly began to step closer to Padmé.

"Really," Padmé replied calmly.

"Really," agreed Anakin.

"Well, perhaps I can change at least one of your minds," Palpatine said, lunging forward and grabbing Padmé by her hair as he yanked her upwards, twisting her neck until he reached down, grabbed her arm, and held it behind her back.

"Don't you touch her!" Anakin hissed. He set Luke on the bed and Force-leaped over it. Anticipating his next move, Padmé managed to twist herself to the left, allowing Anakin to kick Palpatine, hard, in a rather vulnerable area, and then catch Padmé as Palpatine, doubling over in pain, released her. Anakin helped Padmé to sit on the bed (she just had twins, cut her a break), and as she gathered both twins up safely into her arms, Anakin stood between them and the recovered Palpatine.

"Well, my young apprentice," he said.

"Well, 'Master,'" Anakin replied, the sarcasm thick on his tongue.

"I can feel your anger, Vader," Palpatine murmured. "Turn it inward, savor it, use it-"

"No," said Anakin simply.

"What?" asked Palpatine.

"N-O, no."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, stay away from my family, Sidious," growled Anakin.

"The Sith do not repress emotions as do the Jedi, but in this case, my apprentice, I believe some control-"

"I have control. Your idea of _controlled _emotions is merely another emotion- complete hatred," spat Anakin.

"Hatred brings power," replied Palpatine. "When there are no ties to anything but abhorrence, it is so much easier to control, intimidate, and destroy anyone who might prohibit you from-"

"From being human?" Palpatine paused, considering Anakin.

"I think," he said carefully, "that we should continue this discussion later, when you've had some time to cool off." He gave Padmé a look. "Alone."


	16. Why?

A/N: Whoa, am I ever prolific today. Perhaps it's got something to do with having seen ROTS again…

Disclaimer: If I were George Lucas, I wouldn't need to write this stuff.

The next morning, Palpatine summoned Anakin to tour the ship with him. But Anakin didn't allow Palpatine the chance to speak first.

"You've put ideas in my head, and not by talking," Anakin said. "How?"

"The Dark Side holds many powers, some considered to be un-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, and I don't care. What benefit," Anakin asked tightly, "would influencing me- I'm not passing off blame, it was my fault, but I still want to know- influencing me to hit her have for you?"

"Ultimate power comes in stages, Lord Vader," Palpatine said. "For me to have it over you, you must have it over all beneath you, and thus I would have it over all, do you understand?"

"Yes," Anakin began, "But Padmé isn't ben-"

"In the hierarchy of the Empire, she is," said Palpatine.

_And she's proud of it, too, _thought Anakin. _She doesn't want any part in your Empire- she wants to destroy it. _Clarity hit Anakin, suddenly. _And you, you want to destroy us. You want the broken pieces of what will be left of me, to be yours, completely yours. _

_Absolute power. _

"No!" yelled Anakin, suddenly. Palpatine looked startled.

"Yes, she is," he said.

"Not that. You- you- I trusted- why?" he asked. He knew the answer, knew what Palpatine would say before he said it. It was, after all, Palpatine's reason for everything.

"Absolute power," Palpatine said. "Something I know you want, Anakin." Somehow, Palpatine's use of Anakin's real name unnerved him. It put there relationship back the way it had been before any of this happened, almost making Anakin feel as if he were still a Jedi Knight and Palpatine was still Chancellor, and somewhat like a kindly grandfather, and Obi-Wan was like his brother-father, and he and Padmé were still a secret, and he had everything, it seemed.

"I want…" Anakin trailed off. What did he want?

_You know, you've seen it, _a voice whispered in Anakin's mind. More than one voice. Qui-Gon's, Padmé's, Obi-Wan's, Yoda's, his mother's, two voices familiar and yet strange…_Luke's and Leia's_, the voice of Qui-Gon told him. An image swam before Anakin's mind; it was the second one from his dream. He, a Jedi, and Padmé, and their two happy children playing…

"I want my family," said Anakin, and the enormity of it hit him. His family wasn't merely Padmé and the twins, but it was Obi-Wan and the rest of the Jedi and, achingly, those he could never have again, Qui-Gon and his mother, and the Jedi he'd killed, and that Palpatine had had killed. Looking at Palpatine, Anakin couldn't contain himself much longer.

"Excuse me," he said, and then he ran.


	17. Picture Perfect

A/N: Okay, come on now, let's see some more reviews!

Disclaimer: Am I George Lucas? considers it for five minutes in a rather Anakin-like manner…..oh, right, no!

The sound of the door- open, slam, lock- woke Padmé from her gentle sleep. She realized that she was holding Luke and that there was a bottle beside her; she had fallen asleep feeding him again. Luke looked up as if to protest.

"Well, Lukey, maybe if you'd _sleep _at night…" she remembered the door and looked up. Anakin stood in the doorway, smiling faintly, but still out of breath from running.

"Ani! What happened? Why were you running?" she asked a bit frantically.

"I- was about to blow up at him," Anakin said. "I couldn't take _looking _at him any longer. He- he killed the Jedi-" Anakin looked up. "He can get into my _mind, _somehow, influence my _thoughts_- I don't know how long he's been quietly pushing me, ingratiating himself with my mind until he doesn't even need to be physically or even mentally there, until his ideas just- just-"

"Sssh," whispered Padmé. "_You _get to make the ultimate choice in every thing you do. Don't listen to him. You're a good person, you know what is right. Listen to your heart, and it will tell you what to do. No one can influence your heart." Anakin smiled, and, turning her words back on her, said, "You did." Padmé smiled back.

"You _know _what I mean," she paused. "What are you going to do?"

"Go back to Palpatine," sighed Anakin. "We can't let this charade end just yet. The babies have to be old enough to travel, and you have to be well enough to run really, really fast." _And, _Anakin thought, _I have to be strong enough to kick him out of my head. For good, in both senses of the word. _

Palpatine stood waiting, looking out one of the ship's windows, as if he had known Anakin would return. Deciding to be the very picture of a Sith apprentice, Anakin immediately bowed.

"I apologize for my outburst, my master, and for running away later," he said emotionlessly.

"Good, good," Palpatine said absently, staring out the window. Still on the ground, Anakin looked too.

The Death Star.

The ultimate weapon.

He had been hearing rumors of a Separatist plot to build this since Geonosis.

He had had no idea it was real, much less in what appeared to be nearly the final stages of its development.

"What- what does it do?" he breathed, his natural fascination with machines and building things commingling with the gathering of information for the Rebels he had a renewed determination to complete.

"When it is finished," Palpatine said, "it will be able to blast a planet into dust with a single shot." He turned to Anakin, motioned him to rise, and smiled slightly.

"Absolute power," he said. Anakin faked a smile, and looked once more out the window.

He had to get his hands on those plans. Admittedly, not just for the Rebels- he wanted a look at them too- but it was imperative to the survival of the galaxy. Who wouldn't do whatever Palpatine said when the alternative was the destruction of their home planet and all who inhabited it?

_Quite possibly me_, Anakin thought, but knew as he did that it wasn't true. He cared, even though he had never even seen most of them, for every slave on Tatooine. He cared for his stepbrother and stepfather and the girl who was now his stepsister-in-law, despite having met them only once. They had known and loved his mother, given her a family and freedom and love, while he was off being a Jedi hero, and that was enough for him to care.

He wasn't blind to the way the officers and crew of the ship trembled in his presence, the way rumors about him spread and grew like wildfire-

"_He killed a whole camp of Sand People, you know, those nasty spiky things on Tatooine, by himself. The children asleep in their huts, even."_

"_He killed all the Jedi younglings and Padawans back at the Temple. Now, I'll tell you I wouldn't have minded killing a Knight or two myself, but I haven't got the stomach for killing children, face to face. And I didn't even know them." _

And the one, the only one that could make Anakin angry enough to act his reputation, to choke the offender or slam him into a wall:

"_He hits her, you know. Even before she had those twins. The other day, just hours after they were born, I was patrolling that hallway, and I heard her scream, and I guess he was yanking her around by the hair-"_ And then the man the offender was talking to would still in fright, seeing Anakin behind his friend, and would run away, making an obviously false excuse or none at all, and Anakin would grab a handful of the offender's hair, if he had enough, snarl, "Like this?" and slam him into a wall, then kick him in the ribs.

Then he would come to himself, realize what he'd done, think of what Padmé would have said, think of what his _mother _would have said to him about _all _of the past month, and he would stride to his quarters and cry.


	18. Deep Sith

A/N: Ok, skipping over 11 months in the story…Sorry for not posting sooner. Two excuses: A) Homework, and B) Parental controls.

Disclaimer: George Lucas doesn't want to trade me Star Wars for the homework that prevented me from posting this.

Anakin smiled down at the papers spread out before him. The plans to the Death Star. It had taken him a long time and a lot of acting to gain enough of Palpatine's trust so as to be allowed to carry these plans around with him, but it had been worth it.

"Pwans?" asked a little voice from beside him. Anakin looked down in surprise. There, gripping the edge of the table, was tiny Leia. A miniature version of Padmé, Leia was far more mischievous. Her silky, unruly brown curls were tousled around her face, from which shown out two radiant brown eyes. She and Luke were both precocious, speaking nearly coherently already and almost at the point of walking entirely without assistance. Anakin reached, without looking, beneath his chair and mussed Luke's sandy locks. The small boy tumbled out from under the chair with a bright smile.

"Pwans?" he asked, echoing Leia.

"Yes," Anakin said, "Plans." The twins turned to each other and clapped their hands.

"Tan we doe now?" Leia asked.

"Soon, we can go," Anakin promised. "How do you two know about this anyway?" Leia clapped her hands over her mouth, and Luke followed suit.

"No tell," Leia said, releasing her hands for a moment before covering her mouth again. Luke nodded emphatically.

"Were you listening behind doors again?" Anakin asked. The twins looked at each other and shook their heads.

"Uh-huh," Anakin said disbelievingly. Padmé walked out of the other room. "The twins were eavesdropping again," he tattled.

"No, we weren't!" Luke and Leia protested in unison. "Tum man act'd us," Leia said.

"Some man asked you if we were leaving?" Padmé asked, carefully keeping the horror in her eyes from coloring her words.

"Yeah, a thunder twooper," Luke added. Padmé and Anakin exchanged puzzled glances.

"Oh!" Padmé said suddenly. "A _storm_trooper."

"Yeah, that," Luke said.

"Oh," Padmé began.

"Sith," Anakin finished.

"Exactly," said a voice as the door swung open, seemingly of its own accord. "Now," said Darth Sidious, "You're under arrest."


	19. An Impermeable Shield

A/N: Okay. This chapter is rough and a little disturbing. There's violence and a strongly implied horrible crime, so consider yourself warned.

Disclaimer: Not mine, sadly.

_He knew exactly what buttons to push, to tug on Anakin's soul, to bend him to his will, or even to break him completely. He knew the way to extinguish the bright indomitable fire of Padmé's spirit, to pull her down and drag Anakin with her…and now, he had them both. _

Three stormtroopers secured Anakin to the wall with heavy chains. Despite them, the troopers restrained Anakin themselves, holding his chained arms back.

"What- what are you going to do to him?" cried Padmé, her voice quavering. She was restrained by only a single trooper, holding her arms behind her back.

"Nothing," Palpatine responded honestly from where he stood, near the cage that served as the twins' playpen. "I'm not going to do anything." _To him. _

Several men quietly entered the room.

"What the…" Anakin began, but his words trailed off into a strangled howl as he realized what was about to happen and began to struggle against his restraints. _I have to save her,_ he thought wildly before giving way to his blind fury as the men surrounded Padmé, as her high-pitched scream filled the air, giving way to Anakin's inhuman cries as he broke free of the stormtroopers and struggled against his chains.

She fought like a wildcat, but she was too small and they were too many. At the very last moment, she closed her eyes and pulled herself inward. _They think they've won this, this 'victory,' _she thought, _But I refuse to be aware of it…if I am not there, how can they defeat me? _

Anakin continued howling in rage and pain and yanking at the chains that bound him. The stormtroopers exchanged awed glances from within their white helmets as they watched the chains pull…until with some combination of the Force, adrenaline, brute strength, and _love_, the chains were pulled free of the wall.

"Get the hell _away_ from her!" Anakin screamed, attacking the men with insane, animal fury, flinging them effortlessly against the concrete walls with the Force. Gently, delicately, he lifted Padmé into his arms, carefully wrapping her in her torn dress. She opened her eyes and smiled a half-there smile.

"Ani," she said, "They haven't won."

Palpatine looked at the exquisite pain, the beautiful rage, on Anakin's face. And he smiled.

_Later…_

Bruises bloomed on her legs and jeweled her throat like a necklace of sapphires, a medal of courage. But she did not feel courageous. She felt as though someone had cut a hole in her and ripped out all the courage she had ever had. But she had Ani, and she had Luke, and Leia, and she had love. She had the knowledge that Anakin had not hurt her, he had saved her, and that was strength enough. She would rather survive a thousand rapes than have Anakin hit her again. For if you have the impermeable shield of love to encase your heart and soul within, she knew, there is nothing in this world that can hurt you. But if that shield is turned against you, you find it is covered in spikes that drive their way straight through your very soul. And she was determined that that shield would never turn on her again. But not quite as determined as Anakin was.


	20. You Have No Idea

A/N: Anyone got any feedback for me? C'mon, people, I got two reviews, let's hear it, what do you think? Happiness: Jodi Picoult is writing a new book. I read the excerpt and I'm enthralled. Sadness: It's not coming out until March. I neeeeeeed it! I also need to write my own book. If you could take my thoughts straight out of my head and into Microsoft Word, reorganized them a bit, and added an actual interesting event, you'd have a brilliantly satirical novel. Unfortunately, I have gazillions of thoughts and a memory that when it comes to thoughts, is crap. Yet random animated videos about Rome, however…

Disclaimer: I don't own this, it isn't mine. I feel stupid and inadequate and if I end up in therapy from doing something drastic because of low self esteem, IT'S GOING TO BE ALL YOUR FAULT FROM NOT REVIEWING! SO REVIEW! Please.

He wasn't sure how to deal with this. Alright, let's be frank, he didn't have a clue. It was the most unimaginable situation. And now he was faced with a delicate glass swan, one that had been broken into. He had to piece it together, but a single wrong move and it would shatter into a thousand irreparable pieces. And he could absolutely not allow that to happen. Failure was not an option.

She stood at the window, unmoving. _Freedom. _It was what lay beyond the bars of the tiny cell window. It was what lay beyond her grasp. A window, to someone else, would have seemed a gift from an otherwise inhuman captor, but to Padmé, it was not so much a gift as another torture device, Tantalus' pool of water, right before your eyes but forever out of reach. She was not, as Anakin thought, thinking at all about the day before. She had put up a barrier around it, ignoring it, keeping it out of her mental sight and away from her thoughts, which were, in typical Padmé fashion, focused upon her next move: escape. Slowly, she turned from the window to face Anakin.

"We've got to get out of here," she said.

They formulated a plan. Do whatever it takes to convince Palpatine that they were on his side. As soon as possible, run as far as possible.

Okay, so that wasn't going to work. But something had to give. Anything.

"The least we can do is try," Anakin said. He stood up from the table where they had been planning, and Padmé followed suit. Suddenly, unexpectedly, he Force-leapt over the table to embrace her, to kiss her, to hold her, and the barriers came crashing down with a waterfall of tears, from both of them.

"God," Anakin whispered, "I love you so much it hurts." Padmé looked up at him, tears shining bright in her eyes, filled finally again with fire.

"You have no idea," she said.


	21. Past

A/N: Sorry I haven't updated. School decided to become the Gigantic Monster of Homework & Terror that Would Not Die. 'Dysfunctional' fans- Part II is coming soon, very soon, like tomorrow or the next day, I promise. This chapter won't really have a lot of action (that's coming up) and is more introspective on Padmé's part (but it isn't first person).

Disclaimer: If I owned Star Wars, homework would hardly be an issue.

She was supposed to be thinking of a plan, but she couldn't. All she could do was look at Luke and Leia and try, try so damn hard, not to hear the words suddenly, insidiously, winding their way through her mind.

"_I killed them, I killed them all." _

_No, _she thought, and valiantly tried to push the words away, to reject them and the traitorous thoughts that clung to their tail- _He might hurt the twins, he is a monster, but he can't be. Because he has changed. He is different now, because I love him. _But the thoughts, and the words that had brought them, tugged at the corners of her mind like little children pulling at her skirt and would not let go.

"_Not just the men. But the women, and the children…I hate them!" _

More than three years later, and she could still hear the darkness, the vehemence, the anger in his voice, see the hatred and pain marring his beautiful eyes. She had seen the gathering storm, the tears that needed to come, and the hatred behind it. Her first impulse had been a single thought, a single word, which recently had become her mantra- _No._ And then, knowing the truth of it, still she had reached out to him. She took him in her arms, and folded him into her, and let him cry. He had been blind with anger, out of his mind, she had thought. Ani, her Ani, had not truly been present in the body that committed that crime. He would never do it again. But he had. He had done it again…killed innocent children…and he had done it for her. To protect her. To save her, when all along he was the one who had needed saving.

And she knew, knew the full horror of what he had done, because of _her _dream, her nightmare. She had dreamt it the night before, the night…after, and upon waking, she'd known, known with the conviction Anakin had had after his premonitions, that it was true. But it was not a premonition, though just as much a vision. It was a vision of the past. As, asleep, she had watched the children's terrified, terribly young faces, heard them scream in pain, watched them bleed, watched the life and the light leave their eyes, she had seen, at the same time, another terrified young face, had heard another child's scream, seen him bleed, and watched the innocence in his eyes, blue as the sky, turn to resolve, and fill with too much knowledge for a child so young. Another vision of the past. She saw a boy, four years old, being beaten. A boy with hair the color of the sand he so despised and eyes the blue of the waters of a planet he cherished more than his own. Ani.

And she had wondered, traitorously, if she really knew her husband at all. But she had her answer, almost before her mind had finished forming the question. She knew him completely, inside and out, knew that where there seemed to be evil, love hid, a bright nugget of hope at the center, that when he smiled a true smile, it lit him throughout and dissipated the darkness into dust, that although his anger was an inextinguishable flame, his love burned even brighter, that he never set out to do evil, and that deep within him, the incarnation of him that was a frightened nine year old slave boy still lived. Ani.

And now, knowing all of this, and also that he had killed for love and hate, had spilled the blood of innocents to save her, and then had hurt her himself, still she reached out for him again, but this time it was she who needed him. And she knew which of her thoughts were right. _He is different now, because I love him._ And Anakin, who had dreamt as well, dreamt a nightmare that the day before had been his wife's reality, knew that she was ready to cry, to let the walls she had built up come down, just as she had known three years before and countless times since, and so he took her in his arms, folded her into him, and let her cry.


	22. Another Plan

A/N: Sorry not to have written here for a while. And sorry this is short. School and computer problems. Never- as soon as my writer's block for it goes away, there'll be more, and 'Dysfunctional'- Part, what is it now? IV? V? Whichever. Is also coming. Hopefully soon.

Disclaimer: Were I George Lucas, would I have to keep repeating the Padmé's death rant, or would I have done something about it? Or maybe left it open in the first place? Yeah, I thought so, too.

After letting herself cry, finally, Padmé was ready to make a plan. She was still systematically ignoring –it-, a long phase of denial perpetuated for survival. She was ready to make a plan. Unfortunately, she kept hitting a wall. At the moment, literally.

"Ow. Ow. Ow."

"Maybe you should stop hitting your head on the wall, then?" suggested Anakin. Padmé looked up.

"Oh…I, uh, didn't realize I was doing it." Padmé switched to hitting the wall with her fist. Anakin gave her a look.

"It's- just- so- frustrating!" she yelled, beating the wall with all her strength and sinking down to the floor to hold her head in her hands.

"Don't you think I know that?" Anakin cried.

"Don't yell. Please don't wake up Luke and Leia."

"If your hitting the wall didn't-"

"Oh, please," she said, rising to her feet, "that was hardly the decibel level of your useless little tirade."

"_My _useless little tirade? What about-" Her hand on his shoulder stopped Anakin short. "What?"

"Anakin, don't you see, we're doing exactly what he wants, fighting with each other, building up tension until-"

"I snap."

"And go over to his side."

"Exactly." The idea hit them both at the same time.

"Maybe," Padmé said slowly, "maybe that original plan would work after all." Then, of course, the twins began to cry.

They'd have to do it carefully, slowly, they knew. Had to set up exactly the right circumstances. Had to make sure Palpatine would somehow know it was happening. Most importantly, that had to ensure, that, at all costs, the charade didn't become reality.


	23. Saw That Coming

A/N: I have precisely no witty comments stored in my head at this moment; I blame homework. Sure, we won't have any original thoughts in our head, but we'll know where the semicolon goes, who gives a crap about creativity?

Okay, so I've still got one or two.

Disclaimer: It's all George Lucas', none of it is mine.

They practiced fighting and made up scenarios to attract the Sith Lord's attention, the twins watched with interest and often imitated the fighting themselves, with somewhat negative results. Because they didn't get the point, which was to make it appear as though someone was getting hurt while actually inflicting no damage at all.

"Stop missing."

"I thought missing was the point!"

"Not by a foot, Anakin."

"I'm not going to hit you."

"You can get closer than that!"

"No."

"What, I'm going to fall over the second you barely touch my cheek? Get off of it, Anakin, you have to try to make this work!" A smile quirked the edge of his mouth.

"I thought that's what I was doing."

"Very funny. The plan, not our marriage, you idiot."

"Oh, well, in that case-"

His attack, though faked, was a surprise. And so, when his open hand came nearer her face than it had in their many hours of practice, Padmé instinctively ducked.

"Stop ducking!"

"I thought you weren't going to hit me!"

"I'm not!"

"It looked like you were."

"And that," said Anakin, "is the whole idea." Padmé rolled her eyes.

"I _know_," she said, "but-"

She didn't have to finish; the thought lingered in both of their minds.

That thought was exactly why Palpatine wouldn't think they'd be making this up.

That thought was why he'd believe them.

That thought was why the plan was going to work.

It was also why it might not.

"I'm not sure I can do this," Anakin said.

"I know, but we have to," Padmé told him. He sighed.

"There's got to be a better way." Purposely taking his words the wrong way, Padmé jumped lightly to her feet and pulled him up after her.

"We could try pushing," she suggested.

She was right, it was better.

To pretend to shove someone down, you put your hands on her shoulders, and you tense, spreading your hands with perfect timing as she makes herself fall. It isn't as hard as realistically pretending to slap someone, or to punch them, but, like those, there's a lot of room for error.

In fact, you might not even know it if your partner screwed up on purpose.

That was what _Palpatine_ was counting on as he sat, riveted to a small screen.

A small screen on which he could watch, and hear, everything his four prisoners did and said.

He's a Sith Lord. What did you expect?


	24. Reality Check

A/N: Ok, fine, Jeff, he'll chop someone's head off. With what, I'd like to know? Fine, I'll figure it out. But you have no right to chastise me about Never. You've got one story and you haven't updated it since…a really long time ago.

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Star Wars, so any sue-age (or sewage) of me is not good.

This is what Palpatine saw, through his cameras:

He hadn't been paying attention, at the moment, but he turned around when he heard a scream. It was Padmé. Anakin, it appeared when he played back the tape, had hit her. He'd snapped. So Palpatine, capitalizing on emotional distress as he is wont to do, rushed down to the cell block.

"Damn it!"

"What, are you going to laugh? Please don't; I won't be able to stop if you do."

"Padmé, shut up, someone's going to hear you!"

"Ow!"

"Sorry!"

"It wasn't you, I tripped."

"Makes it look more realistic."

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"_We_ aren't awowed to push," Leia said from the crib.

"We aren't really pushing either, dear," said Padmé. "It's only pretend."

"Padmé, shut _up_, they're going to _hear _you!"

"You really are paranoid, aren't you?"

"And _you _are the least suspicious person-"

"No, I'm not."

"Who is?"

"You."

"Oh, I am not."

"Two words for you, Anakin. _Sith Lord_."

"Very funny."

"Although I do suppose you balanced that out by believing that whole Jedi plot thing."

"Fine. I have faulty judgment. We've established that. _Now _can we _please _pretend to fight again before Palpatine gets himself down here and finds us having a friendly argument over who's more suspicious?"

"All right, all right."

Anakin pretended to push Padmé into the wall. She issued a fake scream.

"Yes, Anakin, use your anger! Use it!" Palpatine's voice floated in from down the hall. Padmé and Anakin both froze. Anakin blinked his eyes several times, as though just awakening.

"Master," he said.


	25. Whoa

A/N: I am so, so, so sorry that I have abandoned all my fics for so long! But I'm back, although I don't know how regularly I'll be able to update.

Disclaimer: Come on, Lucas! Not even my giant English project?

"He no your master," Leia said loudly.

"Hush," Padmé hissed.

"Ye-ah, We-uh, _hush_," taunted Luke. Leia stuck out her tongue. Luke returned the favor. Padmé pretended to rather overdramatically cower in fear. Anakin advanced, repressing his laughter with great effort. Palpatine smiled.

"Yes," he muttered, "yes…"

It was then, at the exact same moment, that Anakin and Padmé realized that, in his haste to capitalize upon emotional tensions, Palpatine had neglected to shut the cell door.

In a fraction of a second, shorter than the time it took to blink, Luke and Leia were in their arms and they were racing out the door.

"Guards!" Palpatine screamed, "guards!" But the stormtroopers were far from the separate prison cell in which the Skywalkers were kept, and help was long in coming. Realizing this, Padmé turned, dashed back down the hall, and kicked the cell door shut neatly. As the automatic lock clicked, she smiled prettily at Palpatine through the door's window, and raced back towards Anakin, the Emperor's curses following her down the corridor.

"Wheeeee!" yelled the twins as their parents ran faster, twisting and turning through seemingly endless hallways.

"Ssssh!" Padmé and Anakin hissed simultaneously.

"Sowee," said the twins in unison.

"Go faster," Anakin admonished.

"I'm going as fast as you are. What are we even looking for, anyway?" asked Padmé.

"I'll know when we- a-ha!" said Anakin, turning quickly.

"Anakin? What are you doing?" Padmé asked as she followed.

"The hangar… I know it's…"

"There," Padmé finished.

They had found the hangar, with its giant picture windows, walls of glass, staring into glowing empty space. But the space it looked out upon was not empty, no. It was full, full with a three-quarters built moon-sized ship, with a crater that looked rather like a slice of cake had been cut from the hole.

The Death Star.

"Whoa," breathed Anakin.


	26. Author's Note

**Notice: I'm changing my penname to either elphabathedelirious32 or fabalafae32. You can find my stories and profile under that name. **


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